Fresh Flowers

I'm excited to finally be able to share this quilt with you.  I've been diligently pecking away over here, but it was a surprise so I was sworn to secrecy.

My daughter requested a quilt for her good friend Melanie's 18th birthday.  She specifically chose these exact fabrics to match Melanie's room months and months ago.  Too bad I didn't actually purchase the fabrics back then because it was a bit of a scramble to find what I needed over the internet.  (I know, Hannah.  You warned me.)  I'm really glad that Wendy and my Mom talked me into the yellow background.  It is Kona Buttercup and it works really well with the colors in this line.

The pattern is from the book Scrap Basket Sensations.

I tried something new.  I used a variegated thread, a first for me. I also tried to teach myself the art of free motion flowers in all the yellow portions.  The thing about trying something new is that invariably it isn't going to be perfect right away.  It's always difficult to have imperfections on a quilt, especially one that you give away.  But I think I would get bored too easily if I weren't always pushing myself to learn something new.  I will however note that mistakes show up a bit more readily in variegated thread!

Melanie is a bird lover, so when I spied this Robert Kaufman fat quarter at the LQS I snatched it right up.  The colors worked beautifully, and those who know Melanie will completely understand why birds cropped up on the back of her flower quilt.

I hand embroidered a label.  The verse for this project comes from Song of Solomon.

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My favorite thing about this quilt isn't the quilt at all, but the little accessory that was born during a fit of insomnia last week which led me to putter quietly in my scrap pile.  My sewing machine is in my bedroom and out of consideration for Mr. Eight-to-Five I refrain from running it all night long, even though I tend to be a bit of a creative night owl.  However, by the gentle glow of a small lamp, one can quietly rotary cut and shuffle snippits of fabric around while remaining quiet as a church mouse. 

My first pillow.  Ever.

So THIS is what all the fuss is about.  They are really fun to make.

I embroidered the owl to mimic the fabric on the quilt back.  I offset that block in my layout to achieve a contemporary look.  I then machine quilted each section of the pillow using a different technique.  For instance, I pebble quilted along every single polka dot on the outer borders.  It's so much fun to try new things on such a small project.

I fiddled around a little and figured out how to make an envelope backing.

A matched set.  All future scraps are now destined to become matching pillows.  :-)

Bound in a colorful floral print.  The line (which has mostly disappeared from retailers by now) is Fresh Flowers for Moda by Deb Strain.

The birthday girl was here for dinner Friday night and I could finally let my secret out.

My daughter is now in college in Tennessee, and was really sad to miss Melanie's birthday for the first time since the girls were two years old.

So we solved that.  We skyped with Hannah while Melanie opened her present.

A very modern and high tech birthday.

With an old fashioned, quilted twist.

Happy 18th, Melanie.

And many more.

XOXO